Barristers

A judge has slapped payday lenders BSF, Cigno and their directors with a combined $7 million in penalties for engaging in unlicensed credit activity, finding a lower penalty was appropriate given they had relied on legal advice from Piper Alderman.

Former ACCC chair Allan Fels says the competition regulator appears to have a strong misuse of market power case against Mastercard, but noted the credit card giant may raise arguments about two-sided markets in defending the claims.

A judge has rejected a bid to amend a shareholder class action against Beach Energy, saying the way the applicant had articulated its case on loss by reference to an expert report was “apt to lead to confusion”.

A former client of a Sydney law firm has lost his bid to up a $300,000 damages award against the firm over a defective notice in a proposed $7.8 million land sale.

A dispute between the developer of a luxury Sydney apartment complex and an owners corporation will stay in court, with an appeals court confirming it was preferable to an expert determination. 

Accenture has lost its bid for summary judgment in a former HR exec's case alleging she was booted from her role after raising concerns the company could be liable for $40 million in backpay.

Previewing Monday's closing arguments in its legal tussle with the operator of Melbourne Airport, co-owner Dexus says it won't deny a long-term model given to potential share purchasers was confidential. But here's the kicker -- the disclosure didn't run afoul of its shareholder agreement, it says.

The former lawyer for Broken Hill Council, who was ordered to return over $2 million in unauthorised fees, has been socked with a $1 million order for indemnity costs for “exceptional” conduct in a case over his firm's rates.

Victoria Cross recipient Ben Roberts-Smith has won bail under strict conditions after persuading a NSW judge there were exceptional circumstances in favour of releasing him from custody pending trial.

Concrete company Barro Group is facing a class action on behalf of landowners over emissions from its Sunshine landfill in a Melbourne suburb, which has been on fire for over six years.